California
Navy names ship in honor of astronaut John Glenn
SAN DIEGO – The military on Saturday christened a Navy logistics ship in honor of John Glenn, the first American to orbit Earth.
The former Ohio senator attended the ceremony in San Diego at General Dynamics’ National Steel and Shipbuilding Co., along with his wife and daughter.
The 785-foot USNS John Glenn is a Mobile Landing Platform ship – a new type of amphibious staging and assault vessel. It’s the second one ordered by the Navy to quickly transport troops and supplies to shore.
“What better name could adorn this ship than John Glenn – a risk-taker, an innovator, a man who got the job done,” said Rear Admiral Thomas Shannon during the nearly hourlong ceremony.
Georgia
Police: Man stole cars left during Atlanta storm
ATLANTA – A 34-year-old man is accused of using a tow truck to take cars abandoned in Atlanta during the winter storm and traffic jam.
Police said Louis Mitchell Jr. was arrested Thursday and charged with auto theft, forgery and other offenses. It’s not clear whether he has an attorney.
Atlanta Police Sgt. Greg Lyon told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution a police officer saw an unmarked tow truck pulling a car. The truck fled when the officer tried stopping it. The driver and passenger fled the truck during a chase, sending it crashing.
Investigators say the tow truck was stolen this month. It was pulling a Toyota that was stranded on Interstate 85. The investigation led police to three other cars taken from highways.
Illinois
Daley, former mayor of Chicago, hospitalized
CHICAGO – Former Mayor Richard M. Daley was hospitalized in an intensive care unit Saturday after feeling ill the night before while returning to Chicago from a business trip in Arizona.
The 71-year-old Daley has maintained an active schedule since leaving office in 2011 and exercises regularly, even while traveling, Heard said.
Daley walked off the plane in Chicago before getting into the ambulance, Heard said.
Florida
Law-agency chemist may have stolen evidence
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The Florida Department of Law Enforcement announced Saturday it is investigating 2,600 cases handled by a Pensacola-based agency chemist after discovering dozens of instances where prescription pain pills seized by police and tested as evidence were swapped with over-the-counter pills.
FDLE Commissioner Gerald Bailey said the chemist handled cases involving 80 law enforcement agencies from 35 counties since he was hired in 2006. Most, but not all, of the cases involved testing drug evidence, though it was not immediately clear how many cases might be compromised.
The situation was discovered after Escambia County investigators realized evidence was missing and later found other evidence packages where prescription pills had been substituted with non-prescription pills.
It potentially means drug charges will have to be dropped and prisoners released if it’s determined the chemist tampered with evidence, Bailey said.
Associated Press
